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Arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator Pteris ferns are renowned for their capacity to accumulate As and have been used to remediate As-contaminated environmental. However, there is less information on how ...

Pteris vittata is an arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator plant that accumulates a large amount of As into fronds and rhizomes (around 16,000 mg/kg in both after 16 weeks hydroponic cultivation with 30 mg/L arsenate). However, the sequence of long-distance transport of As in this hyperaccumulator plant is unclear. In this study, we used a positron-emitting tracer imaging system (PETIS) for the first time to obtain noninvasive serial images of As behavior in living plants with positron-emitting 74As-labeled tracer. We found that As kept accumulating in rhizomes as in fronds of P. vittata, whereas As was retained in roots of a non-accumulator plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Autoradiograph results of As distribution in P. vittata showed that with low As exposure, As was predominantly accumulated in young fronds and the midrib and rachis of mature fronds. Under high As exposure, As accumulation shifted from young fronds to mature fronds, especially in the margin of pinna, which resulted in necrotic symptoms, turning the marginal color to gray and then brown. Our results indicated that the function of rhizomes in P. vittata was As accumulation and the regulation of As translocation to the mature fronds to protect the young fronds under high As exposure.

Selected cathodes, including carbon paper (C) and plates of titanium (Ti), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al), combined with a Ti/PbO2 anode (a lead dioxide electrodeposited on titanium plate) were employed for studying quick nitrate removal from neutral water in this work. Cathode materials, current densities and the presence of chloride ions (Cl−) in water were investigated as to the effects on nitrate removal. Nitrate and two main reduction products, i.e. nitrite and ammonia, were measured using ion chromatography. The results showed that the nitrate removal efficiency decreased in the order of cathode materials: C > Ti ≈ Fe > Cu > Al. The optimum removal was achieved to be 47.7% for a 50 mg-N/L nitrate solution by using carbon paper cathode and Ti/PbO2 anode after 120-min electrolysis with a current density of 40 mA/cm2. The subsequent experimental results showed that the current density of 20 mA/cm2 is also high enough for achieving a considerable nitrate removal. Moreover, the presence of Cl− in water was proven to have no significant effect on nitrate removal but be able to promote the destruction of nitrite and ammonia ions, resulting in the virtual decrease in nitrate and total nitrogen. By a designed experiment, the nitrate removal pathway was confirmed to include a reciprocating reduction (of nitrate) and oxidation (of nitrite and ammonia), both of which can lead to the removal of nitrate as well as total nitrogen from nitrate-containing wastewater by generation of nitrogen. cathodes and anodes may play different roles.

Phytoremediation is a promising inexpensive method of detoxifying arsenic (As) contaminated soils using plants and associated soil microorganisms. The potential of Pteris vittata to hyperaccumulate As contamination has been investigated widely. Since As(V) is efficiently taken up by P. vittata than As(III), As speciation by associated rhizobacteria could offer enormous possibility to enhance As phytoremediation. Specifically, increased rhizobacteria mediated As(III) to As(V) conversion appeared to be a crucial step in As mobilization and translocation. In this study, Pseudomonasvancouverensis strain m318 with the potential to improve As phytoremediation was inoculated to P. vittata in a field trial for three years to evaluate its long-term efficacy and stability for enhancing As phytoextraction. The biomass, As concentration, and As accumulation of ferns showed to be increased by inoculation treatment. Although this trend occasionally declined which may be accounted to lower As concentration in soil and amount of precipitation during experiments, the potential of inoculation was observed in increased enrichment coefficients. Further, the arsenite oxidase (aioA-like) genes in the rhizosphere were detected to evaluate the influence of inoculation on As phytoremediation. The findings of this study suggested the potential application of rhizosphere regulation to improve phytoremediation technologies for As contaminated soils. However, the conditions which set the efficacy of this method could be further optimized.

The main threats to the environment from heavy metals are associated with arsenic (As), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). In this study, the potential of Pteris multifida for removing As, Pb and Cd from hydroponic solution and pot soil was evaluated for the first time. Short-term (5 day) experiments were conducted to assess phytofiltration efficiency of temperate zone fern P. multifida and to compare it with mostly studied tropical zone fern P. vittata. Within 5 days, P. multifida accumulated 33% of As(III), whereas P. vittata could not accumulate that most toxic arsenic species As(III) at all. Long-term hydroponic results showed that 90% of Pb, 50% of As and 36% of Cd were removed by P. multifida. Concentration of As in the frond (22 mg/kg dw) was comparatively higher than other parts of plant and significantly higher concentration of Cd and Pb were stored in root and rhizome. Pot soil experiment of P multifida confirmed the comparative uptake and translocation of As(V), Pb and Cd from soil. Therefore, from the assessment of heavy metal accumulation capacity, translocation and healthy survival for long time, P. multifida was identified as an excellent species for the treatment of multi-metal contaminated water and soil.

The depletion of rare metals is an issue of major concern since rare metals are limited in the abundance but essential for high technology industry. However, the present rare metal recovery technical by chemical methods has high environmental impact, poor selectivity, and is too expensive to be practical. To resolve these problems, this study aimed to create a rare metal recover system using yeast, and molybdenum was selected as the first target. A molybdenum binding protein, ModE, which was derived from Escherichia coli was selected. A fusion gene was generated by linking partial modE with a secretion signal and a domain of α-agglutinin to display the ModE on the surface of yeast cells. The expression of fusion protein on the cell surface was detected by immunofluorescence labeling. As for the recovery experiment, the engineered yeast cells were incubated in 10 mM of sodium molybdate solution for 2 h, and the recovery of molybdenum ion was measured by ICP-AES. The results of fluorescence micrographs showed that the designed fusion protein was successfully expressed on yeast cell surface. According to the results of ICP-AES, the cell surface engineered yeast adsorbed molybdenum and the cells after 72~84 h incubation gave the best adsorption. Besides, the results suggested that the optimization of each functional domain in the fusion protein was important. The selectivity and the lower limit of recoverable concentration are under investigation, while this study provides a preliminary result of bio-extraction technology using cell surface engineered yeast.

Pteris vittata is the most well-known arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator, while the corresponding mechanism in molecular level is still not clear. In this study, As uptake and transport in P. vittata were demonstrated by time-course analyses under As addition. Then expression of 3 genes (PvPht1;3, a phosphate (P) transporter gene; PvACR2, a AsV reductase gene; PvACR3, a AsIII transport gene) was focused on to examine their contributions on As processing in root of P. vittata. Results of As addition analyses revealed that P. vittata had high-sensitivity to even 10 ppb AsV which was quickly depleted within 6 h, while this high affinity was inhibited when coexisting with P. Analyses to As in the plant showed that in the absence of P, 99 % of the As taken up by roots was reduced to AsIII at 7 d. And 85 % of As transported to rhizomes was present as AsIII, 74 % of the As accumulated in fronds was AsIII. Results of qRT-PCR demonstrated that the transcription of PvPht1;3 was temporally induced by 100 ppb AsV without P, while 500 ppb of AsV made this induction kept through the entire period which showed 3.7-fold higher than control at 7 d. Meanwhile, PvACR2 was only induced slightly (1.15–1.45-fold) by 500 ppb AsV with a time lag, and this induction wasn’t infected by P. PvACR3 was induced by 100 ppb AsV immediately, and the strength was positively related to AsV concentration. Intriguingly, the expression of PvACR3 fitted the AsIII concentration in the root. Our results suggested a collaboration of these three genes in sensitive AsV absorption, constitutive AsV reduction and subsequent AsIII transportation which contributes to As hyperaccumulation by P. vittata.

Molybdenum, a precious metal with important roles in industries, is projected to experience future shortage. Despite this, there is still no practical recycling process of this metal and around 25 thousand tons of molybdenum are discharged into wastewater annually. Biorecovery is a promising approach to resolve the above problem because of its high selectivity, high sensitivity, low running cost and low environmental burden. A bacterial molybdenum binding protein ModE has been constructed into yeast cells and named as ScBp5. In this study, the potential of genetic engineered yeast for recovering molybdenum from wastewater was further investigated. In order to stabilize the expression of ModE, strain ScBp5 was further modified by replacing promoter upstream of modE to generate ScBp6. The improvement of molybdenum adsorption efficiency by ScBp6 was confirmed especially in low concentration. The molybdenum isotherms parameters of ScBp6 was analyzed. To enable the usage as biorecovery agent in industrial settings, ScBp6 cells were immobilized using calcium alginate matrix, and the optimum immobilization conditions for ScBp6 were determined as 2% matrix density, 4 h of immobilization time, and 10 mg/ml cell density. The investigation of molybdenum adsorption kinetics by immobilized ScBp6 cells showed this adsorption was an efficient chemisorption. Overall, this research demonstrate the efficiency of immobilized yeast cell in molybdenum recovery.

Polyolefins are subject to chemical changes when they are brought in contact with the environment. In the presence of UV-radiation and oxygen, photo-oxidation causes chain scission and cross-linking in polyethylene and polypropylene. This review provides a detailed presentation of the reactions that take place and their effects on the properties of polymers. In this review, radical formation and Norrish reactions are discussed in depth, along with the formation of peroxides and carbonyl compounds. More than a dozen different types of carbonyl compounds can be observed by FTIR. While Norrish reactions are the main reason for chain scission and molecular weight reduction, the initial step of the photo-oxidation may be related to the formation of O2-polymer charge transfer complexes. Photo-oxidation takes place mainly in the amorphous region of the polymer, and polymers with a high tertiary-carbon content are more affected than those with straight chains. Chain scission occurs only in the presence of oxygen, whereas cross-linking in the absence of oxygen results in gel formation. Weathering conditions include seasonal changes, and the day-and-night cycle has a strong impact on photo-oxidation. The chemical changes occurring during weathering influence crystallinity and the mechanical properties of polyolefins. Most of the fundamental work in this field was published more than 30 years ago. It is necessary for the results of these early studies to be verified by methodologies developed in recent years.

As a toxic and carcinogenic metalloid, arsenic has posed serious threat to human health. Phytoremediation has emerged as a promising approach to circumvent this problem. Arsenic uptake by Pteris vittata is largely determined by arsenic speciation and mainly occurs via roots; thus, rhizospheric microbial activities may play a key role in arsenic accumulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of arsenic resistant rhizobacteria to enhance arsenic phytoextraction. A total of 49 cultivable rhizobacteria were isolated from the arsenic hyperaccumulating fern, Pteris vittata, and subjected to an initial analysis to identify potentially useful traits for arsenic phytoextraction, such as arsenic resistance and the presence of aioA(aroA)-like (arsenite oxidase-like) gene. Isolated strain r507, named as Cupriavidus basilensis strain r507, was a selected candidate for its outstanding arsenic tolerance, rapid arsenite oxidation ability, and strong colonization to P. vittata. Strain r507 was used in co-cultivation trials with P. vittata in the field for six months. Results showed that the inoculation with strain r507 potentiated As accumulation of P. vittata up to 171%. Molecular analysis confirmed that the inoculation increased the abundance of aioA-like genes in the rhizosphere, which might have facilitated arsenite oxidation and absorption. The findings of this study suggested the feasibility of co-cultivating hyperaccumulators with facilitator bacteria for practical arsenic phytoremediation.

Toxic metals/metalloid contaminations of estuarine sediments due to compromised tributaries arouse significant interest in studying bacterial community that triggers natural attenuation processes. Geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and Hakanson potential ecological risk index (RI) as a sum of risk factors (Er) were used to quantify toxic metal/metalloid-pollution status of Lagos Lagoon (2W) and ‘Iya-Alaro’ tributary (4W) sediments in comparison with pristine ‘Lekki Conservation Centre’ sediment (L1-B). Bacteriology of the ecosystems was based on culture-independent analyses using pyrosequencing. 2W and 4W were extremely contaminated with mercury (Igeo > 7), whereas, cadmium contamination was only observed in 4W. The two ecosystems were polluted with toxic metal based on PLI, where mercury (Er = 2900 and 1900 for 4W and 2W, respectively) posed very high ecological risks. Molecular fingerprinting revealed that Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Acidobacteria predominately contributed the 20 most abundant genera in the two ecosystems. The 240 and 310 species present in 2W and 4W, respectively, but absent in L1-B, thrive under the metal concentrations in the polluted hydrosphere. Whereas, the 58,000 species missing in 2W and 4W but found in L1-B would serve as indicators for systems impacted with metal eco-toxicity. Despite toxic metal pollution of the ecosystems understudied, bacterial communities play vital roles in self-recovery processes occurring in the hydrosphere.

As a strategy of arsenic-containing mine tailing soil, the application of arsenic hyper-accumulator plants such as Pteris vittata shows high potential. Previous studies suggest that the arsenic uptake by P. vittata is largely determined by arsenic speciation, which is strongly influenced by microbial activities. In this study, two arsenic hyper-accumulators, P. vittata that is a subtropical plant and Pteris multifida that has been found in northeastern Japan, were selected and the their rhizobacteria were investigated. Pot experiments of P. vittata and P. multifida cultivation were performed. The concentration of total arsenic in the plant samples was monitored by inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry. Microbes in the rhizosphere samples were investigated by 16S rDNA library analysis and arsenic resistant bacteria isolation. The results showed that both ferns accumulated As, while P. multifida was more resistant to cold weather. Two ferns presented different rhizobacterial communities and cultivatable bacteria number, but bacteria that contain As(III) oxidase gene or As(III) oxidation activity were confirmed in both rhizosphere samples. The results of present study suggested that the cultivation of ferns changed the microbial communities in soil (rhizosphere), and microbial activity in the rhizosphere played a role in As(III) oxidation. Since ferns absorbs As(III) and As(V) in different efficiency, this study provided hints when linking microbial As transformation to As uptake by ferns which is important when designing pre-treatment procedures of phytoremediation.

From several mercury removing microorganisms, we selected Bacillus megaterium MB1, which is nonpathogenic, broad-spectrum mercury resistant, mercuric ion reducing, heat tolerant, and spore-forming, as a useful bacterium for bioremediation of mercury pollution. In this study, mercury removal performance of the immobilized B. megaterium MB1 was investigated to develop safe, efficient and stable catalytic bio-agent for mercury bioremediation. The results showed that the alginate gel immobilized B. megaterium MB1 cells efficiently removed 80% of mercury from the solution containing 10 mg/L mercuric chloride within 24 h. These cells still had high activity of mercury removal even after mercuric ion loading was repeated for nine times. The analysis of mercury contents of the alginate beads with and without immobilized B. megaterium MB1 suggested that a large portion of reduced metallic mercury was trapped in the gel beads. It was concluded that the alginate gel immobilized B. megaterium MB1 cells have potential to remove and recover mercury from mercury-containing water.